2026 OPEN ENROLLMENT
12/1/2025-12/27/2025
It is time for our 2026 Annual Enrollment period for Benefits! This is your opportunity to add, cancel, or change your current benefit coverage without a qualifying event. Our Annual Enrollment period will be held December 1, 2025 – December 27,2025. Any changes will be made using Paycom (see the attached enrollment instructions), and will become effective on January 1, 2026.
It is time for our 2026 Annual Enrollment period for Benefits! This is your opportunity to add, cancel, or change your current benefit coverage without a qualifying event. Our Annual Enrollment period will be held from now through December 27, 2025. All changes will become effective on January 1, 2026.
KEY THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 2026 ANNUAL ENROLLMENT
(PLEASE READ THIS SUMMARY SECTION CAREFULLY)
KEY THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 2026 ANNUAL ENROLLMENT
(PLEASE READ THIS SUMMARY SECTION CAREFULLY)
1. This is your once-a-year opportunity to add, change or cancel coverage. Changes made during Annual Enrollment will take effect on January 1, 2026.
- NEW! Accidental Injury Insurance
This plan is being added for 2026. If you would like coverage, you enroll during this Open Enrollment period. If do not enroll now, you will NOT be automatically enrolled.
- ANNUAL REQUIREMENT – FSA, Dependent Care, and HSA Contributions
If you wish to make employee contributions to the Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Dependent Care (Childcare), or Health Savings Account (HSA), you must log in to UKG and re-enroll for 2026. Employer contributions will be deposited automatically.
- IMPORTANT – Adding/Dropping Dependent or Changing Coverage
If you wish to add or remove a dependent, change coverage levels, or CANCEL Medical, Dental, Vision, Accidental Injury Insurance or Voluntary Life Insurance, you must make those changes in UKG now. New elections will take effect on January 1, 2026.
2. If you take no action, most of your coverage will remain the same.
Your current medical, dental, vision, accidental injury (new) and voluntary life insurance elections will roll over. Please log in to review:
- Your current benefits,
- Your covered dependents (verify their Dates of Births and Socials), and
- Your beneficiary information in UKG.
Detailed instructions are provided below. Your next opportunity to make changes will not be until next December 2026 with a January 1, 2027, unless you have a qualifying life event during the year.
3. G&W HSA and FSA Employer Contributions for 2026 will remain the same.
Employer contributions will be automatically deposited into your Health Equity HSA or FSA accounts (based on your medical plan election). These funds should appear on your card by the week of January 5, 2026. Reminder – Don’t discard your current Health Equity card!
4. You must ENROLL OR RE-ENROLL for employee HSA, FSA, and DDC – Dependent Day Care (childcare related) contributions for 2026. IRS guidelines require re-enrollment each year. If you want personal contributions deducted from payroll for these accounts, you must complete new elections for 2026.
5. 2026 Benefit Plan Changes Summary
-
- Small premium increases for medical and family dental. All other premiums remain the same for 2026.
- The HSA deductible amount will increase. The in-network deductibles increased from $3,300 to $3,400 for an individual, and $6,600 to $6,800 for the covered family members.
- The Out-of-Pocket (OOP) maximums will increase for the HSA plan in 2026. The maximum out of pocket increase is required by the IRS to meet HSA tax requirements. The OOP will increase to $6,800 for an individual and $13,600 for a family.
- Teledoc is now covered at 100% for both the HSA and PPO plans.
- Critical Illness coverage increases from up to $1,000 to $3,000 per condition.
- NEW! Accidental Injury Insurance added – Cash benefits paid directly to you for covered accidents; premiums are 100% employee paid; Includes a $100 Wellness Benefit per covered person for preventative visits.
- Short-term Disability benefit changes from $500 per week to 60% of your weekly base wages, up to a maximum of $1,500.
6. The 2026 Benefits Guide also includes the 2026 Holiday Calendar Dates and will be added to all internal resources this week.
7. How to Complete Annual Enrollment in UKG
Enrollment is now through December 23, 2025.
Log in to UKG using your computer, tablet, or mobile browser using GWEquip UKG Access
- Username: Your G&W email address
- Password: Your 10 – 62-character password
- Company access code is gwequip (if needed)
- If you need help resetting your UKG access or password, please email HR@gwequip.com.
8. If you have questions or need assistance, please call or email a member of the Human Resources team – Johanna Barthle, Liliana Garzon, Jaime Mothershead, David Fields, Kait Beck or Kim Meltzer. You may email hr@gwequip.com for the fastest response time.
HELPFUL DOCUMENTS
2026 Annual Enrollment Highlights
PLAN ADMINISTRATORS
No Changes in Plan Administrators for 2026 Benefits
-
No Changes in Plan Administrators for 2026 Benefits
-
Medical and Prescription: Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC (BCBS NC) Blue Options PPO – www.bluecrossnc.com/
members or Blue Connect Mobile NC App -
Dental Plan: Cigna Dental – Total Cigna DPPO – MyCigna – my.cigna.com/web/
public/guest or myCigna App -
Vision Plan: Cigna Vision Plan using the EyeMed Network of Providers – my.cigna.com/web/
public/guest or myCigna App -
Group Term Life, Voluntary Life and LTD: New York Life Insurance – www.mynylgbs.com/auth/
employee-benefits/login -
HSA, FSA and Dependent Care Accounts: Health Equity – www.healthequity.com/ or HealthEquity Mobile App
-
Critical Illness and Accidental Injury Insurance: Cigna Supplemental Health Plan – www.cigna.com/
individuals-families/shop- plans/plans-through-employer/ supplemental-health-plans or myCigna App
INSURANCE PREMIUMS
We continue to work diligently to provide a competitive and cost-effective benefits program. Although the medical plan experienced another double-digit increase in claims, we kept the employee premium increase to an average 5% overall. Dental claims were also higher this year as well, resulting in a slight premium increase for the family tier.
NEW HEALTH INSURANCE RATES
| Health | Employee Only | Employee & Spouse | Employee & Children | Family |
| HSA | $51.00 | $172.00 | $126.00 | $306.00 |
| PPO | $68.00 | $251.00 | $201.00 | $386.00 |
NEW DENTAL INSURANCE RATES
| Employee Only | Employee & Spouse | Employee & Children | Family | |
| Dental | $10.00 | $19.00 | $23.00 | $35.00 |
Our Vision and Voluntary Life insurance premiums will remain the same. G&W will continue to provide Group Term Life Insurance, Critical Illness, Short-term Disability (STD) and Long-term Disability (LTD) at no cost to you.
PLAN DESIGN & NETWORK CHANGES
Medical Plans Deductible and Out of Pocket Maximum Changes
This year, the only changes are the deductible amount for the HSA Plan, as required under HSA guidelines by the IRS, and the Maximum Out of Pocket, which has not been increased in 2 years for both the HSA and PPO plans. For the full plan design, please review the attached 2026 Benefits Guide. All other main plan features remained the same.
| HSA 2025 | PPO 2025 | ||
| Individual Annual Deductible | $ 3,400 | $ 2,500 | |
| Individual Out of Pocket Max | $ 6,800 | $ 8,000 | |
| Family Annual Deductible | $ 6,800 | $ 5,000 | |
| Family Out of Pocket Max | $ 13,600 | $ 16,000 | |
| Telemedicine – Teladoc | Covered in Full | Covered in Full | |
EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS TO HEALTH EQUITY
G&W contributes annually to Health Equity to help pay for health care related items and expenses throughout the year for employees. You may use this money to pay for deductibles, co-pays, coinsurance, prescriptions, eye glasses, contacts, dental visits, and other related items. The G&W employer contributions for you and your family will remain the same. This money is free to you if you enroll in either of the health insurance plans, and should be used to help with your out-of-pocket expenses for health care related items.
| Note: These amounts are automatically deposited based on your insurance election. No action is required by you for the Employer Contribution. If you wish to contribute personally, you must make an election each year. |
HSA 2026 |
FSA (PPO) 2026 |
| Employee Only | $1,000 | $750 |
| Employee & Spouse, Children and Family | $2,000 | $1,000 |
UKG ANNUAL ENROLLMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Follow the attached UKG 2026 Annual Enrollment Instructions – December 2025 for step-by-step guidance with screenshots.
- Log in to UKG using your computer or web browser on your tablet or phone, with your Username (G&W email address) and Password.
- From the Home Screen, select Open Enrollment in the left menu, and click on Open Enrollment 2026 Session.
- The Open Enrollment session will open to the home page. Click “Next” to move to each new screen.
- Review and/or Add your Dependent and Beneficiary Information. You will need names, social security number (if enrolled in a benefit plan), date of birth, and phone number. Be sure to “Save” each dependent.
- You will then move through each of the benefit plans to make your elections by clicking “Next” for each benefit.
- You will continue to the Confirm Your Elections Or Changes section.
- Please review and press Submit if correct.
- After you are done, you will receive a Confirmation Page that shows all your benefits with each covered dependent and the costs associated with this benefit.
If you experience issues with logging into UKG or your benefit selections, please call a HR team member or email HR@gwequip.com for assistance.
NEXT ANNUAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD
The next opportunity to make changes will not be until January 1, 2027, unless you have a qualifying event during the year. A qualifying event may include a change in your current insurance coverage (gain or loss of coverage), getting married or divorced, having a baby or other major life events that impacts your insurance coverage. You only have 30 days to change to your benefits based on a qualifying event. You may make the changes for your benefits in UKG under Life Events heading. Contact HR if you have questions or need assistance.
BENEFIT ENROLLMENT ASSISTANCE
For questions and assistance, you may contact Human Resources at hr@gwequip.com or Johanna (980) 321-4607; Liliana (980) 321-4616; Jaime (980) 938-2487; David Fields (770) 324-0089; Kait Beck (980) 229-7050; or me at (980) 321-4656. Some of us will be visiting branch locations and/or attending the Holiday events, scheduling meetings, and hosting Teams calls during the next 3 weeks. We want to be available to help answer questions and assist you with your Annual Enrollment. An email will be sent to each branch location with the dates and times for visits to your specific location.
Thank you for your attention to the Annual Enrollment process. Be sure to review the benefits available for you and your family carefully. Contact HR with any questions or issues
ANNUAL ENROLLMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Passive Annual Enrollment for 2026 for Medical, Dental, Vision and/or Voluntary Life Insurance
Each of you should log-in to Paycom and review your benefits, dependent information and beneficiaries to make sure that the information is correct. You only have to participate in the Annual Enrollment process if you wish to add, cancel or change your benefits for medical, dental, vision and/or voluntary life insurance. If you want your insurance for these plans to remain the same, no action is required, except for the HSA, FSA and Dependent Care plans.
Annual Re-enrollment Required for Employee-Elected Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Account, and Dependent Care Accounts
If you elect to participate in the Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Dependent Care (DDC), you must enroll or re-enroll during Annual Enrollment if you wish to continue your personal election for 2024. If you don’t re-enroll, you will not have the additional employee contribution amounts for 2023.
Voluntary Life Insurance Special Enrollment Period – For 2024 only!
If you previously waived the Voluntary Life Insurance or enrolled at a lower amount and wish to add or increase your coverage, New York Life is offering an one-time open enrollment period where anyone (regardless of current coverage) may increase their coverage up to the Guarantee Issue levels without having to complete an Evidence of Insurability form – up to $100,000 for employee and $25,000 for spouse. You must sign up in Paycom if interested in increasing or adding this benefit.
BENEFIT ENROLLMENT MEETINGS
For questions and assistance, you may contact Human Resources at hr@gwequip.com or Johanna (980) 321-4607; Liliana (980) 321-4616 or me at (980) 321-4656. We will not be hosting formal Benefits Meetings this year but we will be visiting each branch and/or attending the Holiday events, scheduling meetings and calls during the next 3 weeks to be available to answer questions. An individual email will be sent to each branch location with the dates and times for your specific location.
Thank you for your attention to the Annual Enrollment process. This is an important time for you to review the benefits available for you and your family. Please contact Johanna, Liliana or me with any questions that you may have.